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Within a couple of years, drivers between Columbus and Cleveland should have three lanes along
27 more miles of the 140-mile route of I-71.

An Ohio Department of Transportation panel yesterday fast-tracked a project to widen the freeway
between Rt. 95 in Morrow County and the Richland County line.

The Transportation Review Advisory Committee, which sets priorities for road projects, also
approved two projects intended to facilitate the flow of freight in central Ohio. The panel voted
to spend $2.7 million on designing a four-lane road that would connect Rt. 23 to Rickenbacker
Airport in southern Franklin County.

It also set aside $800,000 for preliminary work to relocate Rt. 309 near Marion Intermodal
Center, where rail freight meets the highway.

"We need our system to work better as a whole, how highways and roadways work together with
freight rail and airports," said Scott Varner, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of
Transportation.

In all, the advisory panel recommended $167.6 million worth of new projects across Ohio at its
meeting yesterday. Big-ticket items include $27million toward designing an interstate bridge over
the Ohio River in Cincinnati and $20 million to design a bypass of Rt. 7 in southern Ohio.

The most noticeable project for central Ohio drivers is the continued widening of I-71, which
officials plan to expand to three lanes in each direction for the entire trip between Columbus and
Cleveland.

The phase approved yesterday is the first of three beginning just north of Rts. 36/37 in
Delaware County and ending at the Richland County line. It's expected to begin next summer and end
the following year.

The initial phase is expected to cost $46.9 million. Like all major road projects, the funding
comes from gas taxes and federal grants rather than the general state budget.

The next phase will widen I-71 from near the Delaware County interchange to Rt. 61. The final
phase will close the gap between Rt. 61 and Rt. 95.